Dehydrator



H. J. SCHMIDT June 16, 192.5.-

DEHYDRATOR Filed Dec. 21. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M EMMA; nvdn/ar June 16, 1925.

H. J. SCHMIDT DEI-IYDRATOR Filed Dec. 21. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ai l J In vehfo".

Patented June 16, 1925.

PATENT" 1 HENEIK ;r.- 3011mm, 02:. ecKsQNvIi-m, FLORIDA, meme To. E eB-ine E DRATING AND BEESEEYHNG. ea. QEJACKSQNVILLE, Fnomne, e eonnoeemio st 0F QRIDA.

evv l s t ee 5 meme,

Tg all, whom it may apnegem;

it knew that 1., um; J 2 9 1 3 211 it z n of the nit d Ste residin at J aoksonville, inthe county of Duval and the S a e f lt qiidel-hev nvente ew an ef l Lenni -meet in Deliv ll'e eite Oi.- Whioh tl ie i ollowing is the epecif cationl iv ent n elates t an eppe a vs tel ties by means. of heated air.

Win1 esii e and Qper tine' the d hydmt l d s ibed and cla med n Un ed tett Petnt 'eil eti n 1 i i PliQNQh fi. t Mi e.

seesw e ueu wfi 92 f whi emm e enee I diseovered seve al valt able and 11sefulim wlmt re er umber pli m nts b wh h; I e? em i added. the. fl ciee and. e -ef iihws of. th el dehydrator.

It i We l lQJQW -t e in th f de I.

'drating oi ganic snbetances of al l kinds the ev n i l hntion eftheh t d ai is 0f th ere ter t mp rteeee end.- 1 hav $1 eededb he in plyo fi l fi k lfifiilkd llQ QiII PftB T t nipl ev even; 911 th el d tl'ibu n at e aforementioned dehydrator. I have alsov een abl t erfi e e ill f ther-ebliomy- One unit is shown with the door Closed,

the other iinit with door open, so as to expose the dehy'd ating chamber.

Fig. 218 a plan view of Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is aseotional side elevation of one of tlieunits as indieated by line 33 on Fig. 1. Several of the parts having been oniitted for the saheof simplioity.

. F 4 s a f ag ntar trent levat n p the pp ra u nd c t n he fevel f th heatedair. This view is" drawn on a spinewhat larger scale than the rest of the views.

Fi 5 i e Pe pe tive iew 9 em 9f the afii? plet e d eeewmwe I In. eneral a li dehy ret ma be a d to c n t of. e m te? eli iet le iig e. wins e'eee n lts outer lfilQS! 1 tll se est a ee t m eer fio and ovidjed Wi heating ai e so; plaeed sof ae to 'heat the ll? e t P? S t roi eh. them.- T he t d.

air is then drawn tip throi gli the innei' pess'eeee hi h a e lefe edhfilieent t th rst m ntielled' Pa sa e; e d s par te ime hes by hin. iet i ells! The i ner pa -wee a vi ifiee Qpen i e nto 't E -Q diff ien e e hbe y T e iii s strib ted hrqi e' i th s orifices, z ndby means of b i e iile esl eu ed t h lc rawnevenly t rQugh all the trays placed in the "dehydratin r hr ieh the tra s; is rew w th ough openings gtonned in the battle plates and,

flow of air constant. Any nnniher of .Lunits" ma eene tedte e heriii st w item he $2 1. 9 11. 1 a d having theme P mee pn suppli d by the ame fe I llll j iQW geese-"lb? 'fth ii leh d ta qr in 594. 1 usin Simi ar numel eh 91 .Similer wits Q11 th We 'iil ii sh wn.-

Rewi ingfirst Fige and ach unit iete f e bi la e 1 sidewal 2 a el 3,; t p plete end/H9 W The top plate l does not extend ole a r. to the side alls 0% rmi ates at t PQ nt J G, thi

rm iig penings? Wlli h xt d hewlm aith the 'dliildw ee Th @199 8 i a a hed t9 e t ee? W l 5 by he h nge 9 new '10- F r nve ien e .1 P

l the at h s, ar onnected to one, p

t at one t me 0 ham e fie e heed, ai has, Page by lnieaiis of openings formed in d i swirl d in i s hi el poei qe the 7 e ne 1.9V??? ils that t y ma a l h Pee h nner o d hy ating mnbep fmed e the haeei te l in plat fi re he nner si e walls 2- T .5% inner s de.

all ext pd lie wh e 'deii h" f e appelmt i end ite eb seh t t h e plate. Y Betweenthe inner side walls 12 and the outer side Zinteimediate hide-walls 13 a e oca ed These n ermed ate 'side e ls ex end'th 129 9 depth Q? he @PP chamber.

ratus, but while, like the inner side walls, they extend to the top plate, they terminate a short distance above the base plate. v

Referring now more particularly to F 4 it will be noted that the intermediate side walls 13 are placed at an angle so as to form two tapered passages 14 and 15. The passage 14 is smaller at the lower end while the passage 15 is smaller at the upper end. It will also be noted, as before mentioned, that the intermediate side walls do not extend to the base plate 1, but terminate at the points 16, thus forming a means of communication between the passages 14 and 15. A plurality of wire. mesh bottomed trays 17 are placed in the dehydrating These trays are free to slide in U shaped supports 18 which are securely riveted to the inner side walls 12. Between each of the trays baflie plate 19 are placed and these baffle plates are free to slide on top of the U shaped supports 18. Under each tray and above each battle plate, with the exception of the uppermost baffle plate, elongated orifices 20 are formed in the inner side walls 12. These orifices extend the whole depth of the apparatus. Immediate above these orifices air guide plates 21 are placed so as to guide the air, drawn up through the passages 15, into the orifices 20. It will be noted that these guide plates are placed at different inclinations so as to distribute the air evenly, but this will be explained later. A steam heating coil 22 is placed in each of the passages 14.

The baffle plates 19, which as already explained are placed between each of the trays and one of which is shown in Fig. 5, are upwardly inclined towards their center axis 23 as plainly shown and are provided with curved plat-es 24 extending longitudinally parallel with the center axis. These plates are provided with a plurality of per-. forations 25 which increase in size toward the center. The reason vfor this will also be explained later.

The door 8 is provided with a plurality of orifices 26 which correspond in number to the number of baflie plates used. These orifices align exactly with the chambers formed in the baffle plates between the uppermostpoints 23 and the curved plates 24 and are surrounded by flanges 27 which enter a short distance into the said chambers when the door is closed. The rear wall 3 is also provided with similar orifices 28 and have flanges 29 which extend into the bafiie plate chambers when the battle plates are placed in their proper position in the dehydrating chamber. It will again be noted that these orifices, both in the door and rear wall decrease in size upwardly.

The orifices 26 communicate with a tapered flue 30 secured vertically on the door 3, while the orifices 28 communicate with a similar flue 31 secured on the rear wall Fig. 3 plainly shows these flues as well as the orifices 26 and 28, and flanges 27 and 29. The flue 30 extend some distance above the door 8 and fits tightly over a flue continuation 32, secured on the front wall 5. Both the flues are rounded at their upper ends and connected by means of pipes 33 and 34 to pipe fittings 35 which are connected on the main air exhaust pipe 36. An air exhaust fan, not shown, is connected to this exhaust pipe 36. Dampers 37 and 38 are placed in the pipes 33 and 34 and operated by the lever 39, in the well known manner illustrated.

Steam is supplied to the steam coils 22 through the pipes and pipe fittings 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 and 47. The valves 48 control the steam supply to each dehydrator. The main steam pipe 49 is connected with a boiler, not shown, The conden- Sate from the steam coils flows back to the boiler through the steam return pipe 50 which is connected to the steam coils by the fittings 51 and 52. Valves 53 are connected in the pipe fittings 40 and controls the flow of steam through a perforated pipe 54 connected by means of the pipe 55 and pipe fittings 56. The location of the perforated pipe 54 is shown on Fig. 4 but has, for the sake of simplicity, been omitted on the other views.

The openings 7 are covered with fine wire mesh screens, as plainly shown on Fig. 2, and are also provided with hinged shutters 57, which when closed completely covers the openings 7.

The dehydrator operates in the following manner:

The material to be dehydrated having been spread on the trays 17, these trays are inserted in the dehydrating chamber and the door 8 is closed. The steam from the boiler enters the steam coils 22 through the pipes and fittings, as already explained. lVhen the fan connected with the exhaust pipe 36 is started a flow of air is drawn through the apparatus.

Cool air is drawn through the openings 7 into the chambers 14 where it is heated by contact with and radiation from the steam coils 22. These coils. extend the whole depth of the chambers 14 and are preferably made in zig-zag bends, as shown on Fig. 4. so as to insure the proper heating of the air as it passes. The construction of the chambers 14 and the coils 22'are such that when the air leaves these chambers it is heated to the right temperature. This heated air is now drawn under the edges 16 of the in termediate walls 13 and up into the chamber 15. The tendency of these chambers to be- .come hotter at the top than at the bottom is overcome by the radiation from the thin metal walls, 13 into the upper parts of the IOU ill)

1y th ush tt eWhole appa atus From the chambers the air is drawn in nder he t ays. 11,? threush h openg hich a al ady ear a ied extend he whol depth of the appara us T e ai sn P t 21, ocated im ed ste sha e ch of h ope ng 2 te d t guid he air 111M) these openings To secure an equal ameunt o as pass nghr agh each th trays, the openings 20 d fl 'ease in size up: so t at the op nings ta t-best f om the e l' 'aust fan, or the source of the dr are the largest. The variation in size of the openings are made by arrang ng the guide.

Pla 21 a di feren inch i-tion Th or e t at o. o c ase in he s e of the ope ngs vinso ica b en oun no fur e regulation of these open' 's are necessary, After the air has been wn through the openings 20, it passes up-=tl ough the" wire mesh in the bottom of e; h tray, being guided by the topsand bettomsof the baffie plates directly below and above each tray. In passing through the trays the air absorbs the moisture contained in the material deposited on these trays. The air, now saturated with moisture is next drawn into the chamber, formed under the apex of each baffle plate, through the perforations 25. These perforations are also increased in size as the distance from the fan increases.

From the baffle plate chamber the air is drawn towards the front and the rear of the apparatus and through the orifices 26 and 28 into the fines 30 and 31 from whence it is exhausted through the pipes 33 and '34 into the main exhaust pipe 36. The orifices 26 and 28 are also graduated asto size so that the air is compelled to pass evenly through each orifice. It will be observed that the perforations 25 causes the air to be drawn rectangularly across from the openings 20, thus distributing the air evenly through every part of the trays.

As it is desirable during the first part of the precess to use moist air for the drying, the perforated pipes 54 are provided so that water vapors from these pipes miX with the heated air in the chambers 15. The valves 53 regulating the amount of vapor used.

As it is sometimes desirable to steam certain commodities before starting the dehydrating process, the shutters 57 have been provided. hen these shutters and the dampers 87 and 38 are closed the apparatus forms a practically steam tight chamber and by opening the valves 53 wide any desired amount of steam may be admitted through the perforated pipes 54.

To any one skilled in the art of dehydran: t w l s n ha with thi appara us. the steaming or blanchingin a separatewapr paratus ismade unnecessary and thatgby the even distribution or" the evenly heated air h cu ng, v ene a ly r o ted to afte the mater als leave the dehydrator, s

v idedi- Having thus described my invention and itsoperation, what Iclaim as new and wislr to protest by Letters Batent'is:

1, In a, dehydrating apparatus; down.- wardly tapering, cold air intake passages lo.- cated on opposite sides of the apparatus; means for heating the air passing. through these passages; upwardly tapering, hot; air distributing passages located adjacent to and communicating. with the first mentioned passages; the wallsseparating said cold air andhot air passages constructed of thin.

metal so as to allow radiation from one passage to another; and the tapers of said passages such that the combination of the tapers with the radiation through the thin metal walls will cause ,a relatively eveni temperature of the air through the whole length of the hot distributing passages.

2. In a dehydrating apparatus; downwardly tapering, cold air intake passages located on opposite sides of the apparatus; means for heating the air passing through these passages; upwardly tapering, hotair distributing passages located adjacent to and communicating with the first mentioned passages; a dehydrating chamber located betweenthe said hot air distributing passages; a plurality of removable trays placed in said dehydrating chamber; bafiie plates interposed between each of said trays; the side walls between the dehydrating chamber and the hotair distributing passages provided with a plurality of air inlets; the front and rear walls of the dehydrating chamber provided with a plurality of air outlets; and said air outlets communicating with fiues located on the front and rear of the apparatus.

3. In a dehydrating apparatus; downwardly tapering, cold air intake passages located on opposite sides of the apparatus; means for heating the air passing through these passages; upwardly tapering, hot air distributing passages located adjacent to and communicating with the first mentioned passages; a dehydrating chamber located between the said hot air distributing passages; a plurality of removable trays placed in Said dehydrating chamber; bafil-e plates interposed between each of said trays; the I side walls between the dehydrating chambar and the hot air distributing passages provided with a plurality of air inlet-s; the front and rear walls of the dehydrating chamber provided with a plurality of air outlets; said air outlets communicating with fiues located on the front and. rear of the llil') wardly tapering, cold air intake passages located on opposite sides of the apparatus; means for heating the air passing through these passages; upwardly tapering, hot air distributing passages located adjacent to and communicating with the first mentioned passages; a dehydrating chamber located between the said hot air distributing passages; a plurality of removable trays'placed in said dehydrating chamber; baffle plates interposed between each of said trays; chambers formed under the apex of each of said bafile plates; a plurality of orifices provided in the bottom plates of said baffle plate chambers; the side walls between the dehydrating chamber and the hot air distributing passages provided with a plurality of air inlets directly under each of said trays; the front and rear walls of the dehydrating chamber provided with a plurality of air-outlets; flanges surrounding said air outlets and extending into said baffle plate chambers; all of said air inlets and outlets increasing in size from the top to the bottom of the apparatus; and all of said baffle plate chamber orifices decreasing in size from the center to the front and rear.

5. In a dehydrating apparatus; a dehydrating chamber; air intake and air distributing passages located on opposite sides of the said dehydrating chamber; flues locate-d at the front and rear of the dehydrating chamber; said flues connected with an exhaust pipe; dampers provided for closing said exhaust pipe; shutters provided for closing the air inlet passages; and perforated pipes located in the air distributing passages whereby the apparatus may be filled with steam.

In testimony whereof, I, HENRIK J. SCHMIDT, have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses this 15th day of December, 1923.

HENRIK J. SCHMIDT. In the presence of- L. M. CORNELL, W. P. MURIEL. 

